Hull FC 25-16 Hull KR: Black and Whites win derby thriller
By PA Media
Last Updated: 08/02/20 12:37pm
Hull FC battled to a hard-fought 25-16 win over city rivals Hull KR to earn Lee Radford his 100th victory as head coach.
Both teams traded two tries apiece in a tight first half with Harvey Livett and Adam Quinlan crossing for Rovers, while Jake Connor and Danny Houghton - on his 32nd derby appearance for Hull FC - scored for the home side.
Hull led 12-10 at the break but the Robins took the regained the lead for a third time through Ben Crooks' superb team try, only for Marc Sneyd to nudge the Airlie Birds back in front.
A clean break by Josh Griffin pushed the lead to 24-16 before Sneyd wrapped the win with a late drop-goal.
Buckets were at the turnstiles before the match to raise funds for former Hull KR prop Mose Masoe.
The 30-year-old continues to receive treatment for a serious spinal injury sustained in a pre-season friendly against Wakefield that brought his career to a sudden end.
The KCOM Stadium sold masks of the Samoan for both sets of fans to don in the 10th minute - his former number - which the visiting side marked in perfect fashion by Livett crossing over for the opening score of the match.
The hosts hit back five minutes later to take a 6-4 advantage with their first real attack as Connor found a gap to finish off a fine move.
Quinlan grabbed a deserved try in the right corner after Hull KR gained superb field position when forcing home winger Ratu Naulago into touch.
Former FC man Jamie Ellis converted his first goal to put Rovers 10-6 ahead with 14 minutes left of the first half, but Hull replied once again.
The Black and Whites worked their way downfield before two visiting defenders failed to deal with Sneyd's grubber kick, which allowed Houghton to touch down on his 350th Hull FC appearance.
Sneyd converted from under the posts to nudge the home side into a slender first-half lead.
Hull KR, who had a try chalked off on the stroke of half-time, restored their advantage in the second half with a wonderful try which eventually saw Crooks cross for his fifth try of the season.
Tony Smith's side kept the ball alive with a series of offloads throughout the team which created space on the left wing for the former Hull man to score, with Ellis landing the touchline conversion to make it 16-12.
Ellis saw a kickable penalty come back off the post shortly after and the hosts made him pay by scoring a breakaway try through Sneyd, who converted his own score to put Hull into an 18-16 advantage.
Griffin cut through the Rovers defence to stroll in under the posts to move Hull into an eight-point lead with 17 minutes remaining before Andre Savelio thought he wrapped up the points with another try, only to be ruled offside.
Rovers rallied late on but it was the boot of Sneyd who produced the final scoring act as Hull started the 2020 season with two wins from two.